dev noob with an idea. where to start ?

[Torhal]

Up until Blizzard invoked the "donations only" clause, I was amping up to write an AddOn called GIEFMONEYNAO, which would periodically spam the user's chat windows (as many as the user defined) with the text "GIEF MONEY NAO!".

Alas, my hopes were dashed...

[coz752]

oe. awesome feedback.
Well, here is the thing. I know blizz wont like it if people try and make money out of their game, and i cant blame them however up to this point i only thoroughly glanced at the eula you see as player and never took the time to look up the eula surrounding addons.

Cool, if that's the rules of the game, understandable.
but im not giving up quite easy tho ;p

hypothetically, what about semi-linked things
example you have a nice clear standalone addon, (its not it, but as plausible example that you can relate to) for example a dkp addon .
it also features a export button that writes the log to file or a window that you can copy paste from.
you on the other hand also supply a website (but 'forget' to advertise that in the actual addon) where ppl can interact (no ofc not live interaction with the game, lol) with the data you get from the addon, and this website is not critical to the addon, it wont break the rules of the addon, but they just fit snug together. and you make the website free/donation based for basic usability. but maybe a small fee for an extended, more feature based version.

4. It is also quite possible that you have not seen anything like your idea because it is not possible to accomplish.

from what i can tell, it is possible, but for some strange reason it hasn't been done - afaik.

Originally Posted by shkm This, especially. WoW has been out for a long time, and chances are anything that could see large scale success, like QuestHelper or Carbonite, has already been created. There are smaller innovations every now and then which really do make you wonder why no one thought of them before (I'm looking at you, VirtualPlates) but for the most part everything that doesn't fill a very tiny niche or is not possible has already been made. This is, of course, not to say that there is no chance that your idea will be a great one. In regards to revenue, you can go ahead and look at some hugely successful addons and see only meager donations. That is the only revenue you may make, and it certainly doesn't add up to the dev hours clocked to create such an addon.

I agree, it should have been there. I havent found it. i'm definitely certain it is not a tiny niche since it is not a gui change that adds a sparkle here or there. It's a solid concept but the category it fits in doesn't even exist on most addon websites.

and the comment about revenue, yes i had known in advance a standalone addon wont ever be made with the sole intent to make a profit, and a lot will struggle to run break even. and im not delusional in thinking i can change that however, if the addon suggests to fill a demand, is deployable as seperate addon and could be semi-linked to a website that does more. heck, for all i care the idea and website is applicable for more mmorpg's.. or, maybe it already does and im being paranoid and not eager to explain it all straight away.

ironically i know just talking it over and not wanting to tell too much is tempting your speculation and imagination of what it can be, and i've already said enough to get the ball rolling, i know..

so aside a lua coder.. maybe is there also a web developer around here looking for something to do ?

[MidgetMage55]

Originally Posted by coz752 oe. awesome feedback. Well, here is the thing. I know blizz wont like it if people try and make money out of their game, and i cant blame them however up to this point i only thoroughly glanced at the eula you see as player and never took the time to look up the eula surrounding addons. Cool, if that's the rules of the game, understandable. but im not giving up quite easy tho ;p hypothetically, what about semi-linked things example you have a nice clear standalone addon, (its not it, but as plausible example that you can relate to) for example a dkp addon . it also features a export button that writes the log to file or a window that you can copy paste from. you on the other hand also supply a website (but 'forget' to advertise that in the actual addon) where ppl can interact (no ofc not live interaction with the game, lol) with the data you get from the addon, and this website is not critical to the addon, it wont break the rules of the addon, but they just fit snug together. and you make the website free/donation based for basic usability. but maybe a small fee for an extended, more feature based version. from what i can tell, it is possible, but for some strange reason it hasn't been done - afaik.

Here is where that part of the plan falls through.

1) Add-ons must be free of charge. All add-ons must be distributed free of charge. Developers may not create "premium" versions of add-ons with additional for-pay features, charge money to download an add-on, charge for services related to the add-on, or otherwise require some form of monetary compensation to download or access an add-on.

So in the end you cannot have a for pay section of your website that offers additional services or functionality that is related to the addon. Even if it simply parsing the data more thoroughly.

[Seerah]

If they were website only related features and didn't have anything to do with the needs of the addon or use of the addon, then that would not fall under the scope of the UI Policy. (Just to clarify.) For example, WoWInterface and Curse both have a premium user category, where contributors to the site get extra site benefits.

[MidgetMage55]

Thanks for the clarification Seerah.

Here have a dancing banana.

[coz752]

i meant what Seerah wrote indeed

but yeh, in short cool multimmorpg idea (website part) which hasnt been done yet (either standalone or as how i envision it), which i expect can have a large demand, interest and popularity. and therefor also potentially interesting enough not to give its details away too quick and easy.

not that i dont trust you people, but if i put the idea out in the open and *grabs tinfoil hat* some silly rich company decides its a good idea to steal and develop, send in their team of coders and have it done before the end of the week, Coz will be a sad panda.

[Xrystal]

So, 4 days on. How are your studies in wow addon programming going ?

Hopefully you have had the opportunity to play around with displaying information in a simple window. My first addon was taken from the Blizzard tutorial and in minutes I had a window display my money in gold, silver and copper. With the combination of information at the various sites linked to assist you, you should be able to make a simple display addon.

Regardless of what your overall idea for a project is, see if you can split it up into segments and work on each of the segments in turn. Enhance them and fix any bugs and then merge them. Within a few weeks you should have a workng addon that can then be enhanced as you learn more. Even the very large and complex addons can be written by one person and not a group. nUI for example only has one programmer. There are a few of us that write plugins for it but Scott is the only person that writes the base code for the addon itself.

We're glad to help with any queries you have and believe me that first step is far but then it is so unbelievably easy that you wonder why you never started doing this in the first place

[Maul]

Originally Posted by coz752 not that i dont trust you people, but if i put the idea out in the open and *grabs tinfoil hat* some silly rich company decides its a good idea to steal and develop, send in their team of coders and have it done before the end of the week, Coz will be a sad panda.

Chances of that happening are virtually zero. You can copyright your code, but the idea cannot be. As soon as you release an addon, other are free to develop the idea using their own unique code.

Bartender, Bongos, Dominos, Trinity Bars, Macaroon, Infinibar, FlexBar, XBar, all of them are action bars for the game, but each is coded uniquely and the code belongs to their respective authors. But the ideas they implemented can be done by any of the authors.

Also, with the game going on 5 years old, I can virtually guaranteed your idea was at least thought of before if not attempted

[coz752]

Originally Posted by Xrystal So, 4 days on. How are your studies in wow addon programming going ? Hopefully you have had the opportunity to play around with displaying information in a simple window. My first addon was taken from the Blizzard tutorial and in minutes I had a window display my money in gold, silver and copper. With the combination of information at the various sites linked to assist you, you should be able to make a simple display addon. Regardless of what your overall idea for a project is, see if you can split it up into segments and work on each of the segments in turn. Enhance them and fix any bugs and then merge them. Within a few weeks you should have a workng addon that can then be enhanced as you learn more. Even the very large and complex addons can be written by one person and not a group. nUI for example only has one programmer. There are a few of us that write plugins for it but Scott is the only person that writes the base code for the addon itself. We're glad to help with any queries you have and believe me that first step is far but then it is so unbelievably easy that you wonder why you never started doing this in the first place

slow at best but... , I looked at a few files of random addons. looked at the hello world addon example and also from your own remarks decided it would be best to start at the beginning and figuring out what exactly i want and need. also have rl things to work at, but at least I'm somewhat wiser since making this topic. thanks so far, will try and make some progress

[becorath]

So, Any updates on your idea?